


Blood magic and other mating habits

by ThunderCat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 10:20:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9815447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThunderCat/pseuds/ThunderCat
Summary: An accident in the Black library causes Hermione to face her fate...or better her mate! Hermione/Salazar Oneshot





	

Blood magic and other mating habits:

With a low groan Hermione woke up. Her whole body felt as if a Manticore had used it for a round of Quidditch practice and after a few attempts to change her position she just gave up. There was no real pain beside a slight throbbing in her right arm, but she felt thoroughly drained.

What in Merlin's name had happened to her? She had not felt that bad since the final battle, where she had duelled with two Death Eaters at once. Though she had won the fight it had brought her one very uncomfortable month in a hospital bed.

After a few more attempts to sit up she gave up and tried to open her eyes instead and...nothing. Everything remained as it was. Pitch black.

For the greatest witch since Rowena Ravenclaw her next move was anything but smart, but she could not help herself. It was simply instinct -she screamed!

It didn't take more than a minute or two before the door to her right swung open with full force and two figures nearly knocked themselves over in an attempt to get into the room first.

The dim light from the floor shut her up at once and made her feel stupid for her harsh reaction.

"Mione, is everything okay?" Harry's panicked voice could be heard and Hermione was suddenly glad that it was dark, so no one would be able to see the pink strains on her cheeks.

Merlin how embarrassing!

"I'm sorry, Harry," she muttered. "I woke up and.." I thought I was blind. "And I didn't know where I was and what happened and everything was dark," she answered instead. There was no need to humiliate herself more then necessary.

"It's okay, Mione," her best friend assured her and stepped nearer to sit beside her in a chair. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Can...can you turn on the lights?" Somehow the darkness of the room made her uncomfortable. Before Harry could do anything, Hermione heard another familiar voice mutter a quick lumos.

"Malfoy?"

"Yes, Granger, it's me," the other person assured her and stepped towards her as well. His light blonde hair shone unearthly bright and she had to blink a few times to adjust to the sight in front of her.

"Where am I?" Though she and Draco were on friendly terms now, the same could not be said about Harry and the Malfoy heir. They were polite if they had to be, but most of the time they did their best to avoid each other like the plague.

"Grimmauld's Place," Harry answered and her frown deepened. If they were at Harry's place, what was Draco doing here?

"Don't you remember?" She just shook her head and waited for them to tell her.

"I allowed you and Malfoy to use the Black library to search for a cure for the curse."

Her eyes flickered to Draco who just stood there with a stony expression on his face but nodded as he felt her eyes on him.

Hermione could not remember coming here with Malfoy for research, but she could remember intending to do so. Narcissa Malfoy had been hit with a dark curse by the hand of her own husband for being a traitor to their side. For Draco's mother all that ever counted was the life and well-being of her son and after everything that happened in their sixth year, it was her who sought out the Order to pledge for help. She and Draco likewise changed sides and were one of the reasons they had been able to win the war.

Unfortunately before the very end, Lucius Malfoy had been able to curse her and curse her good. It wasn't a very common spell and to make things worse nobody seemed to be very interested in helping Madame Malfoy, even after all she had done, so Hermione had taken it upon herself to find the counter curse.

Draco had already searched in the Malfoy library for the last tree years, without any success and Hermione knew the blond man good enough to know that if he said there was noting in there -there was nothing.

So she wanted to ask Harry. She knew that although he was not very fond of Draco he would not want anybody to loose his mother. His own traumatic experience cut too deep for that.

The Black library was one of the oldest in the Wizarding World and contained some of the rarest books of dark magic that had ever been written. If they could not find the solution in here -it was highly unlikely they would find one at all.

"No," she shook her head. "When did we come here?"

It did not slip her attention that both men were exchanging a quick glance with each other. Something that did not ease her confusion one bit.

"Uhm...maybe six hours ago."

"Six..six hours?" she stuttered. "What happened?" With another groan she tried to sit up in bed and with Draco's help she adjusted somehow.

"You can't remember anything?" Her best friend asked uneasy and slowly but steady her confusion was turning into annoyance.

"No what happened?"

"Well..uh you see..."

"Potter allowed us to use the library," Draco took over, as Harry seemed to be at a loss of words. "We were here around an hour when Weasley suddenly appeared."

Hermione winced instantly. Even after a year Ron was still a sour spot for her.

After the war, everything had been perfect. Finally the two of them had gotten together and things had been like they should have. The way everyone had told them. Hermione had fancied herself in love with Ronald Weasley for longer than she could think of and finally he had taken an interest in her too. For a few months Hermione had lived in bliss.

In stupid, mindless bliss. But love made blind after all.

One evening she came home earlier then usual, she had caught him in bed with another woman. In their bed. The very same she slept in every night and and was with him.

Of course she had hexed him so badly that it had taken five witches and wizards to break every curse she had hit him with, before throwing the stupid slag out of her flat. Stupid like Ron was he had apologized to her and vowed that it was a mistake and it would never happen again -and really thought she would forgive him.

Instead she had packed her things and left him for good.

They were back on speaking terms by now and she had accepted his apology some time ago but she had never forgiven him. So whatever had happened it could not be good. Especially if Malfoy had been in the same room.

"Oh no...!" she sighed.

"Yes. Well, as you can imagine he wasn't very happy to see me here and pulled out his wand. To make things short: You threw yourself between us and he hit you with a slicing curse."

Her eyes went wide and searched hectically for some sort of injury.

"We healed you," Harry tried to calm her down and took one of her hands in his. "You have been lucky, he only hit your right arm! I don't want to imagine what would have happened if..." He didn't need to end the sentence. Hermione knew exactly what he wanted to say and she squeezed his hand lightly.

"...it would have hit me." Draco finished his sentence teasing and waggled wit his eye-brows. "Didn't know you cared, Potter!"

Harry growled but Hermione had to smile and felt a little less on the edge.

"So, why was I unconscious? Did I loose too much blood?"

"No...well, yes. You did loose a lot of blood but it's a little more complicated than that." Again there was an uneasiness in Harry's voice.

"What is more complicated?" Hermione pressed. "What happened to me?" Again she started to roam her hands over her body. Legs, arms, waist, chest, face...but nothing there felt or looked different.

The coughing noise from Draco reminded her that it was probably not the best idea to touch herself that elaborately while in company of the two of them and blushed.

"Don't worry there is nothing wrong with you," Malfoy assured her, but the fact that he tugged at his own hair told her that he was uncomfortable with something.

"What happened?!" she demanded. "Tell me. Now!"

"You see... you stumbled and fell into one of the book shelves which smashed to the ground. You've been buried under a lot of old books." He said and looked at her as if she should be able follow his thoughts. As he understood that she couldn't, he pressed further. "Under a lot of old, dark magic books...with a bleeding arm."

She paled.

"Hermione!" Harrys worried voice broke through her momentarily stupor.

"Oh, Merlin!" Now she knew exactly what Draco wanted to tell her. Blood magic. One of the oldest, strongest and darkest magic that there was. Forbidden by punishment and Hermione knew why. Some of the most horrid things magic had perpetrated had happened because of blood magic.

"Do you...do you know what my blood triggered?"

"Uhh, yes." Harry nodded. "There was only one book that came into contact with your blood and...uh...somehow...uh... collected every drop you lost. And ...uhm...we think...maybe a bit...uh more?"

There were a thousand questions but before she could form one word Draco took over again.

"What Potter is trying to say is that the book drunk your blood, till it had enough to finish what it was made for."

"And what was it made for?" Hermione's voice was barely more than a whisper.

"From all the things that could possibly happen, I think one could say that you are lucky. Knowing you I'm not so sure though." Again she wanted to talk but once more Draco beat her to it.

"Your blood triggered an old mating spell."

"Mating spell?" Dumbfounded she looked at him. He was right, she didn't like the sound of it.

"Uhu...," Harry nodded.

"In simple terms it is a spell to choose your perfect match. Not a soul mate but one that will match your magic. In former times it was a commonly used spell for a witch or a wizard if he or she wanted to marry. I think the original reason why it was banned was because the Pureblood families were unhappy with it. This spell is purely magic and overrules any form of arranged marriage. So it was a clever way to avoid an unwanted match, or to mess up a long arranged match if someone used the spell and was matched with a Pureblood."

There was only one question in her mind at the moment, but she had trouble to form the words. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath and repeated it in her head a few times till she whispered the question that would change her life forever.

"Who?"

"You see Hermione, it..." Harry started nervous, but she interrupted him.

"Who?"

"It..."

"Who?" She yelled.

"Salazar Slytherin," Draco answered and with that everything went pitch black again. Never had she known unconsciousness could be such a bliss.

-OOO-OOO-OOO-

To say that he had been surprised to appear in the middle of a foreign library next to an unconscious woman would be an understatement. 

True he couldn't say that he was exactly sorry. One moment he had been duelling with his traitorous so called brother, who had lured him away from the safety of Hogwarts only to murder him and the next moment he was pulled through space and time how it seemed.

Thousand years away from home. Even for a wizard it was hard to grasp but nothing he could not get acquainted to.

After over three months of living in this world he couldn't exactly say that he wanted to leave. Of course he missed the few friends he had in his time but that was about it.

Truth to be told Salazar Slytherin was tired of his life. With his twenty-eight years he had accomplished more then a lot of other wizards twice his age but a lot of things were less than perfect:

His family for one thing. From his murderer of a brother to his cheating wife, the endless arguments with Godric, the trouble with the muggleborn witches and wizards and the not less troublesome problems they all had on and off with the wizarding world for being the funders of a school.

All in all he was not sorry to leave it all behind and had it not been for the accident with the mating spell he would have been dead.

He was sure of it.

The first thing he had done was to learn as much as possible of what had happened in the last thousand years. At least the main events so that he got the general idea of the wizarding history. Some of the things he had learned -especially the ones about himself had shocked him greatly.

Of course he had been against muggleborns, but not for some stupid reasons as blood! Where in Merlin's name had they gotten this idea from? Did they have any idea what muggles had been like in his time? Could they even understand what it meant for an eleven year old muggle child, who was raised with the belief that anything magical was the work of the devil and they would rot in hell if they didn't get rid of it, to get invited to Hogwarts? In the minds of most of them it was the residence of the devil himself. A place where he trained his demons.

More than one terrified child used his magic against other students in an attempt to do gods work.

History somehow twisted the facts till he was a mudblood-hating-bastard.

He had never heard the word mudblood before now and found it disgusting. Salazar's only problem with muggles had been the church and their silly believes they forced upon the people.

Yes, Godric had seen things differently and yes, they had had more then one argument about it and yes, he had left before they could settle on a satisfying solution, but due to totally different reasons than the books told.

Salazar had left because of his brother who had called upon him to tell him that his wife had been badly injured and he should come home. Of course he had left at once only to find his wife in perfect health waiting for him together with his brother.

It had been a trap. Nothing more than an attempt to finish him off so that they could be together without him interfering.

The books never mentioned him over the time he left Hogwarts so he guessed if it had not been for the spell he would have died.

Well, he certainly was not dead and he did not attempt to die in the near future. And he would not allow some stubborn witch to accomplish where so many others had failed.

Okay, he would not exactly die but he would get very uncomfortable. He could already feel it, with each passing day he felt less and less at ease. It was not really bad but it would be. He knew of the spell, as in his time it was not unheard of.

Draco had told him why the spell had probably been banned -besides the fact that it was blood magic -and he had to agree with him. But there was another reason the spell was not so popular even in his time.

The spell did not only choose the perfect mate, it forced them to fuse their magic. Once the spell had been performed there was no way around it and if the individual would reject his chosen mate, the person would start to feel worse and worse the longer he denied his magic to become one with its real companion.

After that the couple would be one. Their magic would be one.

And as scary as that thought should be, Salazar could not find it in him to be displeased with the companion this magic had chosen for him.

Hermione was not exactly hard on the eyes. She was small but with a voluptuous figure that caused him to choke on a nasty piece of fruit when he had seen it for the first time. Really seen it! They had been on the ball Draco had given in his honour, as a thank you for curing his mother from a curse.

It had been sheer luck that he knew of the curse Narcissa Malfoy had been hit with and he guessed it was sheer luck nobody knew that it was a curse he himself had created in a time of great rage and self-hate.

Hermione had worn something that a smugly grinning Draco called a cocktail dress. It had been a deep crimson colour and clung to her form like a second skin. He had been barely able to rip his eyes from her that night. In his time such a dress would have caused quite a scandal but not here, just another detail he valued about this century. Much like the bathrooms or some of the potions this times possessed.

The way witches were allowed to dresses certainly ranged in the higher places of his new favourite list. At least the way Hermione dressed.

Draco assured him that it was still quite prim and proper for modern circumstances and only ten minutes later he knew exactly what the Malfoy heir was talking about.

But where his mate possessed elegance others obviously lacked and tried to score with showing an inappropiate amount of skin.

Other than her pleasant appearance Hermione Granger was sharp-witted, passionate and intelligent enough to rival Rowena. Not to mention that she was one of the strongest witches he had ever met.

So, who was he to complain?

Unfortunately, it was a lot harder to make her see that he was the right choice for her.

He had quickly understood that his false reported hate for muggleborns and the actions of some half-blooded bastard, who had called himself his heir was one of his greatest problems.

Had he not been dead, he would have finished this Riddle-boy off on his own.

"Still thinking about ways to make Hermione fall for you?" Draco asked with an amused smile as he came to a halt beside him.

Both of them had started what might become a good friendship one day. Other than most people that surrounded Hermione, the blond man was cunning, intelligent and knew how to handle a wand for more than a warming spell.

No wonder he had been placed in his house.

"I don't understand this woman!" He complained and forced Draco to laugh.

"Welcome to the club."

He huffed and watched said witch laughing with a redhead witch across the room. It was New Year's Eve and Draco had invited them all to celebrate. She was wearing one of those sinful dresses again. This time it was floor length and golden with a long slit on one side that showed enough to wake an interest but not enough to be scandalous. She nearly looked unearthly in the shimmering cloth and again he was barley able to take his eyes of her.

"Have you spoken with her?"

Of course he had! He had used every chance he got and she always greeted him with a happy smile when he appeared by her side. They had spend nights simply talking to each other. About the war, about his time, about family and friends and nearly any other interesting topic. Beside Rowena he had never met a witch that preferred a thoughtful debate over silly gossip.

It was not that they did not talk and spend time together. They were friends. The problem was that she seemed to think nothing more of him.

He had never had problems attracting a witch. More than one woman had assured him of his good looks in his time and in this time.

There had been even magazines that asked him to pose half naked because so many witches had asked for it! Honestly he had been shocked! Who in their right mind would lower himself for such a thing? Obviously a lot of wizrads, Hermione's cheating ex-boyfriend included.

Draco had told him about the idiotic boy who was another reason he had more than a little trouble to convince the woman that he was the right one for her.

Her magic had chosen him after all, what more proof did she need?

Salazar understood that she was afraid of being hurt. His wife had not been exactly kind to him and after some long talks with Draco he tried to accept the way of how relationships were handled in these times.

For someone like him it was a bitter pill to swallow that things were that loose, but he had to accept things the way they were.

But after all what Draco explained to him he had understood that Hermione was still different form others. She was not a loose woman by any means, but obviously there were not many men around any more who knew how to cherish a woman like her.

"I have," he answered Draco's question.

"Have you told her?"

"No." There was no need to lie. Draco knew of the side-effects of the curse. The magic wouldn't allow them much longer to be apart from each other. They had to join or they would suffer. He already was plagued with headaches, dizziness and nausea from time to time, symptoms he was sure she shared with him.

Why did she resist to see him as what he was? Her mate! He was intelligent, good looking, powerful and unbelievable rich, thanks to good hidden accounts. What more could a witch possible want?

Draco sighed.

"I know it's not our way but she is a Gryffindor. Subtle is not the way they handle things. And with the way things have been for Hermione she is careful to let nobody behind her carefully prepared walls. "

"Weren't you the one who told me that bribery isn't the way to make her mine?" He pointed out. Of course that had been his first thought. She would have no choice but join with him if she understood the whole extend of the spell.

Mate or rot in agony. Not really a hard choice.

Of course that wouldn't have been very ethical, but he had just escaped murderer and wasn't about to die here if he did not need to. But Draco had convinced him that it would be the worst thing he could do and after a month he understood why.

After the second monthhe didn't want her to come to him by force but by her own free will. Now in the third month he was desperate to have her with him and he knew it was about time to find a way before he did something he would later regret.

"I didn't mean it like that. But maybe you don't make it clear enough that you are interested in her. You know in more than a friendly way. It's Granger we are talking about. I don't think that she sees herself as something more than one of the guys. Weasley sure as hell has made sure that she felt anything but desired."

Growling at hearing the other man's name he continued to watch Hermione taking a glass champagne from one of the house elves with a bright smile. He followed her movement as she lifted the glass to her mouth. Even from this far he was torturing himself as he watch her parting her lips and...

Shaking his head he glanced at Draco who was laughing quietly.

That was the problems with other 'Slytherins' they tended to see more than others.

"If I'm allowed to give you a good advice, go over there make her see that you see her as a desirable woman and kiss her when the clock strikes twelve."

He glanced back at Hermione who was still standing at the same spot. The last three months he had tried to make her see him as her companion. In the beginning only to save himself but over the time also because it was what he really wanted. He tried to balance between the old and the new world and wasn't always successful while doing so.

Maybe Draco was right and he should do exactly what he told him. He had only thought between the two extremes:

Force her to consume their magic binding and woo her the old way but he had never thought about simply seducing her.

-OOO-OOO-OOO-

When Hermione looked up she could see him walking straight towards her and like always her heart started beating in a much quicker pace than normal.

It had been over tree months since the accident in the library. After she had awoken out of her unconsciousness again, she had needed another two hours till she had felt strong enough to meet her 'mate'.

Salazar Slytherin, co-founder of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry and role-model Pureblood.

Great Merlin, she had thought he would kill her at first sight. But the man in the kitchen, chatting comfortably with Draco was as far away from those prejudice as possible.

The moment she stepped into the room he rose from his seat and stepped over to her side and escorted her to a chair. Hermione was so shocked about his show of chivalry that it didn't even cross her mind to protest.

He was the perfect gentleman in any situation and Hermione was surprised and astonished by how quickly and easily he had adjusted to this time. And was even more surprised to hear how history had changed some few important facts concerning his person.

At first she had trouble believing it, but the longer she talked to him, the more she realized that not everything the books claimed to be true was how things had really happened.

Oh, he could be an arrogant stubborn git if he wanted to, but at the same time he was one of the most interesting and intelligent, not to forget attractive, men she had ever met.

She couldn't remember anyone else who could hold a conversation that easily and use facts to underline his arguments for a change. Of course in thousand years there was a lot he had simply no knowledge of but he was like a sponge. Greedy for knowledge much like she herself. He also never seemed to be irritated or bored when she started to explain things, instead he listened intensely and asked her further about some points afterwards.

Salazar on the other hand could tell her a lot of things books had done wrong or simply did not mention at all. Even their arguments were exciting and challenging in some way. In short she loved every minute she spend with him.

But she was no idiot. It was a miracle in itself that they were friends, it was simply ridiculous to hope for more. Maybe he was her perfect match for her magic but she did not fool herself into thinking she could ever be enough as a woman.

She had not been for Ron, how in Merlin's name should she be for Salazar Slytherin? Hermione had seen the way other women looked at him. He was not only the most famous living wizard beside Harry Potter, he also was one of the best looking and richest.

He could choose whomever he wanted and she could be lucky that he did not report her for using dark magic -blood magic- on him. Intentional or not.

In former times that spell may have been the same as a marriage but today it meant nothing, though sometimes she had the feeling that there might be something more between them.

Of course it was rubbish. She was imagine things. Things like that the slightly numb feeling in her body vanished when he was near, or that her mind seemed clearer. Silly things like that his eyes seemed to lighten up when he saw her or that his mouth twitched into a small smile.

Wishful thinking nothing more. But she could not help herself, the more time passed the less she could stop thinking about him.

Today seemed even worse then normal.

It was New Year's Eve and they had been invited to the Malfoys place. After Salazar had been able to help Narcissa, Draco had loosened up a lot and often invited them over to dinner or hosted some kind of party for some charity project.

Apparently more than one man had got the chance for a new life.

She had spend a good quarter of her monthly salary for the dress she was currently wearing. It was golden, sleeveless and with a high neckline. The only scandalous thing beside its tight fit was the long slit over her right tight. It was surely nothing anyone would picture plain Hermione Granger in, but she wanted to look good.

For him.

Stupid, but it was the truth.

And now she watched as Salazar made his way across the ball room, doubtlessly on his way to her. The smile on her face appeared before she could stop herself, but she was rewarded with one of his. Not the slight upturn of his lips, but a real full hearted smile and like a school girl with a crush she feared she would melt on the spot.

"Hermione," he smiled and took her hand to kiss the knuckles softly. "You look simply breathtaking tonight!"

Her heart made a little jump at his words and action. Although he always found nice words for her he had never acted like that before.

"Thank you, Salazar," she answered a little breathless but was happy for finding her voice at all. "You look quite handsome yourself." And he did. Like always. Maybe that was some kind of Slytherin thing, that he had made a rule.

His black robes were combined with a dark green waistcoat which went nicely with his eyes. Like Draco he had a fondness for details so she was not suprised to notice that his cuff links were engraved with snakes, or that his clothes were made of the finest materials a person could afford.

Before he could say another thing though, they were both rudely interrupted by a bunch of giggling witches. Breathtaking beautiful witches that showed Hermione again how plain and simple she was and how utterly laughable her attempt to attract him.

"Mr. Slytherin," one of them started in a throaty voice. "It's such an honour to meet you. I myself have been sorted into Slytherin house," the woman continued and let her eyes disapprovingly wander up and down over her person as if to ask what she was still doing here.

"My friends and I would be honoured if you would join us at our table." As if on clue all three of them smiled brightly at him and practically undressed him with their eyes.

"I'm very sorry, Madame, but I was just about to dance with the most beautiful witch in the room," he apologized smoothly and didn't only surprise her with the answer.

"Oh, and who might that be?" The pretty blond asked him as if he was not still holding her hand in his.

Distaste appeared on his handsome features but vanished quickly. Instead he simply smiled and pulled her nearer to him. "Why, Hermione of course!" Salazar told the witch as if she had just asked the dumbest question ever. "If you would excuse us?" And before one of the stunned witches realized it, he had pulled her on the dance floor.

"You didn't need to do that," she told him softly.

"Do what?"

"Defend me."

"Defend you? I was merely pointing out a fact. You are the most beautiful witch here and to me anyhow."

Stunned she looked at him and if he hadn't lead her so formidable over the dance floor she was sure she would freeze on the spot. Was he playing with her?

"Salazar?" She asked a little unsure after a while and earned a deep sigh, something she didn't know what she should make off.

"Hermione, I'm tired of being your friend."

Oh! Oh...he didn't want to be her friend?

"I thought...you...I..." She stuttered like an idiot but the stopped her, made another twirl and promptly lead her away from the dance floor out on the patio. It was freezing cold but she barely felt anything. His words were still ringing in her mind.

But he had noticed the goosebumps on her bare arms and lead her down to the small cottage beside the lake, although in reality it was more a sinfully decorated house than a 'garden cottage', but with the Malfoys anything got a new dimension.

Not that she registered anything beside Salazar's warm hand on her back as he pushed her softly through the door.

"Hermione," he suddenly started anew after he had seated them both on one of the leather couches. "For the last three months I did anything I can think of to make you see me, but regardless of what I do you never seem to notice me."

Was he kidding?! Not noticing him? She couldn't remember a single moment where she had not been fully aware of his person.

"Really?" He asked surprised and to her great horror she realized that she must have said the last part out loud.

"Oh," she cried and covered her burning face with her hands. How embarrassing could things get? It was simply not fair.

"Hermione, please don't do that!" He pledged and grasped her wrists with both of his hands to pull her hands down. "I'm happy to hear that you noticed me because I certainly noticed you and I'm tired of being your friend -only your friend. I want to be more! I want you to be with me."

By now her mind was buzzing. No! No, he couldn't mean that. That was ridiculous.

"Why, why would you want me? You could have anyone," she argued.

"But I choose you. My magic choose you! Your magic choose me! We are perfect for each other, you are certainly perfect for me!"

"I'm a mudblood!" She did not know where that came from, it simply slipped over her lips before she could do anything against it.

"Don't use that word!" He snarled forcefully. "It's degrading and disgusting and you are anything but! You are everything a man can hope for, Hermione. Intelligent, kind, sharp-witted, loyal and beautiful and I certainly will not wait till one of those idiots in there notices what I have seen the moment I laid eyes on you." He went on. "You belong with me!"

Dumbfounded she stared up at him too shocked to say anything.

He winced inwardly as more words left his mouth than he intended to say. Gryffindors had the annoying habit to rub off now and then when it came to this feeling kind of thing.

To his great surprise however he discovered that he meant every word he told her. She definitely belonged to him! And not one of these stupid whelps who would break her heart. For a second it crossed his mind, that his motives in the beginning had been anything but noble and were still part of his interest in her. But the greater part believed in what he had said: She was perfect for him!

Obviously she did not believe a word he was saying and he was holding that Weasley boy fully responsible for it. How could she doubt her desirability that much? Had she no mirror? Did she not notice that a man admired it when a woman knew more about potions than the fact that they could be used for beauty issues? Or that a sharp witted mind could wake a man's interest in a witch just as well as a well-shaped body?

Did nobody ever made the effort to tell her that she possessed both? And more?

Obviously not and he had no idea how to convince her, that he was telling her the truth. But there was not always a place of words, sometimes actions spoke louder and without waiting another second he did what he had wanted to do for a long time.

He kissed her.

At first it was nothing more than a soft brush of his lips over hers, while he placed his hands on her shoulders, stroking her silky skin with his thumbs in slow circles before pulling he nearer to him.

He caressed her lips with soft movements till he could feel her quivering and hesitantly responding to him. It was such a shy and soft kiss that he would have doubted that she had ever been with another man, had he not known better. It was not clumsy just uncertain, as if she feared to do something wrong.

Carefully he started to take the kiss a little further. He nibbled on her plumb lower lip only to caress her with the tip of his tongue the next moment and with a sigh she parted her lips for him.

But none of them could have prepared themselves for what happened the moment their tongues met when he deepened the kiss.

It was as if his magic itself was tickling through every pore of his body and made him hum with pleasure. And she must have felt the same, since he could hear her moan softly into his mouth.

Like a trigger the sound of it washed away any sort of resistance he possessed and the next second he was kissing her with wild abandon only to find her responding with the same eagerness.

They were touching, kissing and moaning as if nothing else mattered beside them. She was everything to him at that moment and finally her magic forced her to realise that he was everything she could ever want.

Salazar pulled her nearer and before he knew what happened she was sitting on his lap, rubbing her curvy little body against his in the most delicious ways and he could not help but moan deeply as her breasts pressed firmly against him. This was better than he had imagined and he could not stop the pleasurable shudder that ran down his back.

His right hand wandered up and down over her body from the crook of her neck to the lovely curve of her waist and up again, while his left remained buried in her wild locks to hold her against him. Not that she made any attempts to break the kiss or get away from him. Instead Hermione allowed her own hands to explore his body. Much more shyly than his attempts on her, but her soft touch felt wonderful and only left him with the want for more.

Their magic was buzzing around them and he was sure every now and then he could hear it crackle over their breathless moans and sighs. But he could care less.

As long as Hermione continued with what she was doing and allowed him to do the same, the earth could fall to pieces around them and he would not care.

The way her body rubbed against him did not fail its effect on him. He was so hard that it was nearly painful. It was too much and not entirely enough at the same time and Salazar could not remember the last time he had felt like this -or if ever.

His kiss became hungry and deep till the sheer need for oxygen forced them to pull away form each other. But that could only stop him for so long. Without hesitating he started to kiss her neck till he he reached the point where it reached the shoulder and nipped playfully on the skin.

That got a throaty moan out of the witch, which caused him smile against her neck. Her soft little hands were buried in his hair and pulled him nearer against her to encourage him further and he was happy to oblige.

By now they both were breathing hard and neither of them seemed to be able to control their simple need for each other. Not that he was trying in the first place. His hands slowly wandered upwards over her waist till he was cupping both of her breasts in them and begun to stroke them threw the thin layer of clothing.

"Salazar!" His name from her lips was too much and with every bit of self-control he still possessed he pulled away from her.

"What...?" Hermione stuttered and he could see instantly that she mistook his actions, so he leant in and kissed her lightly before he leant back again.

"Please be sure," Salazar nearly winced at his own pleading tone. It was so atypical for him to give her a chance to back off. But he needed to know that she wanted-needed this as much as he needed her. "When we continue this then you will be mine. I wont let you go!" He told her. It was necessary for her to understand that he would not allow her afterwards to leave him. They would be a unit. Mates.

"Will you be mine, too?"

A little bit stunned by her question he needed a moment to answer. So the little Gryffindor had a possessive strand in her? Smiling he nodded.

"You already have me!"

And with that he kissed her again and the moment she responded with the same passion and eagerness as before he swooped her up in his arms. He would not allow himself to continue here, on a couch. Hermione deserved more than that so he carried her upstairs.

To reasons only a Malfoy could understand the complete first floor was nothing else than a giant bedroom. Or at least a gallery with a big, comfortable looking bed in it.

With each passing day he found more reasons to like Draco, though this would probably be on the top list for quite a while.

-OOO-OOO-OOO-

Some time later Hermione was lying draped across his chest with a happy smile on her face. Salazar's hand was stroking her back slowly up and down while she simply enjoyed the warmth of his body.

Hermione could not remember a time when she had been so at ease and happy as in this single moment. It had never been like this with Ron. In the past sex had always been a short, passionless act that was mostly over before it started to feel good for her. Ron had accused her more than one time of being frigid and in the end he had told her that her incompetence to please him had practically forced him to cheat on her.

Stupid as she was she had believed him. At least she had thought that something was not right with her. All her female friends always told her how utterly amazing and hot sex could be. Hermione had read dozens of magazines in where hundreds of woman talked about great, passionate love making and she just felt nothing of all those things a person was supposed to feel during the act.

With Salazar all she had ever heard about sex did not seem so unbelievable any more. In fact it had her wondering what more there was and left her anxious for more.

Tonight she had felt loved, cherished and for the first time in her life she felt desired. A feeling that was completely new to her and she did not want to miss in her future.

"If I have my way, you will miss nothing and least of all desire," he eased her unspoken fear. Only a few hours ago she would have been alarmed that someone was able to 'read' her, but now that their magic had settled it was different.

They were truly one now and wordless talk seemed as easy as "normal talk" if they wanted to do so. It should scare her and she should ask a million questions, like she normally would but at the moment she was too lazy and comfortable to do anything other than smile and snuggle deeper into his chest.

A moment later she felt him kissing the top of her head and she looked up to him only to find him smiling smugly at her.

He was about to tease her, she was sure of it, when somewhere outside loud explosions could be heard. Apparently it was twelve and Draco was entertaining his guests with a spectacular firework.

"Happy new year," she whispered.

"Happy indeed!" he grinned and pulled her down for a kiss.

***End***


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